THE CONJURING Spinoff ANNABELLE Gets a Release Date!

A quick update for you on that spinoff of THE CONJURING. According to Variety, ANNABELLE is set for an October 3rd release date, which pits it against David Fincher's GONE GIRL. Not that I take issue with that - I can see 2 movies in 1 weekend, so no complaints here.

The film is based around the story of the haunted doll named Annabelle that was briefly shown during THE CONJURING. The story is one of the more famous in the case files of demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren (portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga in the film). The doll was the property of a college student and her roomate back in the 1970's. It supposedly moved around on its own and left messages around the apartment. The students contacted a medium, who claimed to be communicating with an presance claiming to be the spirit of a little girl named Annabelle. When the Warrens were called into the case later, they determined that the doll was not haunted by a ghost at all, but by a demonic entity.

Not much is known about the film's plot at this point, but the majority of the Annabelle legend was already covered during THE CONJURING. It seems unlikely that they would rehash that same story into its own feature, though anything is possible. And there is pleny of room to expand those five minutes into something more detailed. It's also possible that we will get a new story detailing the early misadventures of the Annabelle doll, before she crossed paths with the Warrens.

We'll see how it shakes out as more details emerge. With an October release date, we should probably be seeing a trailer before terribly long.

The film stars Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton and Alfre Woodard. It is being directed by John Leonetti, who served as on cinematographer THE CONJURING, and written by Gary Dauberman.